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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, is taking on boxing’s reigning WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, on October 28 in a fight many experts predict is only happening to line both fighters’ and their promoters’ pockets. Ngannou will earn a reported $10 million for the clash, but boxing experts predict that Ngannou could find himself on the wrong side of an embarrassing defeat. Will the fight be so one-sided in Fury’s favor? Let us take a look.
Frank Warren, Fury’s promoter, is adamant that the Fury versus Ngannou fight is not an exhibition match or a show but is a legitimate boxing match. It takes place over ten rounds, and to Queensbury Rules, although Fury’s titles are not at stake. And that is where the first problem lies for Cameroon-born Ngannou, who fans nicknamed “The Predator.” Fighting to boxing rules removes most of Ngannou’s arsenal and tips the scales in favor of Fury, who has boxed professionally since 2008.
Ngannou is a Beast of a Fighter
Until he joined the Professional Fighters League (PFL), anyone looking for how to bet on UFC profitably online would be told to back Ngannou. The six-foot-four-inch 257-pound man mountain is a formidable athlete. Ngannou has won 17 of his 20 professional MMA fights, 12 by knockout, thanks, in part, to his phenomenal punching power. Indeed, Ngannou holds the world record for the hardest punch after the UFC Performance Institute measured an overhand right at more than 129,000 units. UFC President Dana White claims being hit by Ngannou is the equivalent of receiving a blow from a 12-pound sledgehammer swung overhead.
That incredible punching power will be something Ngannou will look to deploy against Fury. However, Ngannou has never boxed before and is used to being able to elbow, use his forearms and knee, and kick his way out of trouble and on toward victory. Fighting to boxing rules means legal punches only, and that takes away 80-90% of Ngannou’s game.
One also has to consider the lack of boxing experience on Ngannou’s part. It is all good to have the power of a small family car packed into his fists, but he needs to be able to navigate his way to unleash that power, all while avoiding being taken out by one of the greatest heavyweight boxers ever.
Do Not Allow Fury’s Demeanor To Fool You
Fury, for all of his childish antics, is an elite-level boxer. Since turning professional in 2008, Fury has recorded 34 fights, 33 wins, one draw, and 24 knockouts. He has left the likes of Deontay Wilder, Dillian White, and Derek Chisora on the canvas and outboxed the Ukrainian legend Wladimir Klitschko.
BoxRec and ESPN rank Fury as the best active heavyweight boxer worldwide, while the Boxing Writers Association of America ranks Fury as the sixth-best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. It does not take a genius to see that Ngannou is a significant underdog in this fight. It looks set to be so one-sided that, the fighters receiving eight-figure purses aside, it is a complete waste of everyone’s time and effort. It is akin to pitting an English Rugby League team against an NFL franchise. Sure, both sports use a similarly shaped ball, the men that play both sports are hulking giants, and they all run and tackle, but they are different games entirely, and neither team would stand even the most remote chances of beating the other in a code they are not experts in.
Why Is The Fury versus Ngannou Fight Happening?
The boxing match everyone wanted to see was Fury versus Anthony Joshua, but that was when “AJ” held his championship belts. Fury and Joshua agreed to fight in Saudi Arabia on August 14, 2021, but an arbitration judge ruled Fury had to enter a third fight with Deontay Wilder; Wilder was not prepared to step aside and allow Fury to take on Joshua.
Fury knocked out Wilder in Las Vegas, but Joshua lost to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk, thus losing his WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles. Usyk defeated in the rematch 11 months later, leaving a Fury versus Joshua clash unlikely at best.
After the third Wilder fight, Fury stayed active, beating Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora by technical knockout, leading the boxing fraternity to want to see Fury step into the ring against Usyk. Despite lengthy negotiations, neither Usyk’s nor Fury’s camp has managed to arrange a fight between the two.
Ngannou finds himself at a loose end after departing the UFC in January 2023 following differences in opinions regarding contracts. He signed with the Professional Fighters League and will compete in its pay-per-view “super fight” division, although Ngannou has yet to enter the ring with his new promotion.
Let us be honest. This upcoming bout is 100% about the astronomical sums of money each fighter will earn. Although the purse is yet-to-be-decided, various contact sports media reports suggest Ngannou will take home at least $10 million, with Fury’s bank balance set to swell by even more. Throw some sponsorship deals and pay-per-view revenue into the mix, and the money each athlete could make is off the charts.
Has a Similar Fight Happened Before?
One only needs to look at the last time the UFC and boxing worlds collided on the big stage. Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. took on Connor “The Notorious” McGregor at the T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, on August 26, 2017. Mayweather took home a reported $280 million, with McGregor receiving $130 million. Unsurprisingly, Ngannou and Fury are keen to step into the ring together.
The Mayweather versus McGregor fight was disappointing at best. Mayweather, who was 49-0 then, was never in trouble against McGregor, who struggled to stick to only boxing. Mayweather kept the UFC star at bay throughout the fight before defeating McGregor by technical knockout in the tenth round. Many boxing fans were disappointed that Mayweather did not finish McGregor sooner, with some describing it as a cat that had caught a mouse and was playing with it before going in for the kill.
Everyone has a similar feeling about the Fury versus Ngannou clash. Ngannou has the power to knock out Fury, something nobody on Earth has managed to do up to now, but that is all he has. It gives Ngannou a chance, but Fury will almost certainly out-move and outbox the Cameroonian, put on a show for the cameras, but ultimately pick off Ngannou and remain undefeated. Money aside, this is a ridiculous fight that nobody wants to see.
